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25040Venturebeat.comU.S. intelligence community opposes efforts to curtail privacy watchdoghttp://venturebeat.com/2016/10/03/u-s-intelligence-community-opposes-efforts-to-curtail-privacy-watchdog-efforts/
http://venturebeat.com/2016/10/03/u-s-intelligence-community-opposes-efforts-to-curtail-privacy-watchdog-efforts/#respondTue, 04 Oct 2016 04:05:45 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=2071164(Reuters) — The U.S. intelligence community does not support pending congressional legislation that would curtail the authority of a privacy watchdog that advises the president on government surveillance programs, according to an unclassified memo seen by Reuters. The position amounts to a rare show of support for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, or […]
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(Reuters) — The U.S. intelligence community does not support pending congressional legislation that would curtail the authority of a privacy watchdog that advises the president on government surveillance programs, according to an unclassified memo seen by Reuters.

The position amounts to a rare show of support for the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, or PCLOB, from the spy agencies it is designed to oversee.

It came in a letter to the leaders of congressional intelligence committees that outlined opposition to several sections of an annual intelligence funding bill awaiting action in Congress.

President Barack Obama’s senior advisers would recommend a veto of the bill if Congress does not address the concerns raised, the letter said.

The intelligence community “strongly opposes” part of the proposed legislation seeking to limit the jurisdiction of PCLOB to the privacy rights of Americans, and not foreigners, the letter, signed by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, reads.

PCLOB is “uniquely situated” to give advice to spy agencies on how to respect global privacy interests, and limiting its authority “is a significant step backward from the reforms that the president has directed.”

Some members of Congress have increasingly attempted to restrict PCLOB, which released a report in January 2014 that concluded a National Security Agency program that collected U.S. phone metadata in bulk was illegal and ineffective.

That program, exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, was later reformed by Congress.

The letter, dated Sept. 9, also objected to a provision that would require PCLOB to keep senior intelligence and congressional officials informed about its activities, an arrangement it said would present significant separation of powers concerns.

In a statement Monday, ODNI spokesman Richard Kolko said the positions in the letter “remain the intelligence community’s views.”

A PCLOB spokeswoman did not comment on the letter but referred to an earlier statement expressing concern with the restrictions proposed by Congress, while noting Americans were the primary focus of the board.

The House intelligence committee has received the administration’s comments and was working with Senate colleagues to finalize a version of the bill that can be enacted into law, said a spokesman for committee chairman Devin Nunes, a Republican.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has placed a “hold” on the intelligence authorization bill due in part to the PCLOB language, a maneuver that prevents quick passage of the legislation.

PCLOB, a bipartisan five-member panel created by Congress in 2004, has been without a chairman since March.

(Editing by Matthew Lewis)

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2016/10/03/u-s-intelligence-community-opposes-efforts-to-curtail-privacy-watchdog-efforts/feed/02071164U.S. intelligence community opposes efforts to curtail privacy watchdogGoogle to urge Congress to help get self-driving cars on roadshttp://venturebeat.com/2016/03/14/google-to-urge-congress-to-help-get-self-driving-cars-on-roads/
http://venturebeat.com/2016/03/14/google-to-urge-congress-to-help-get-self-driving-cars-on-roads/#respondMon, 14 Mar 2016 18:31:20 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1895788The head of Alphabet Inc's Google self-driving car program will urge the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to grant national auto safety regulators new authority to speed the introduction of self-driving cars on American roads.
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(Reuters) — The head of Alphabet Inc’s Google self-driving car program will urge the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to grant national auto safety regulators new authority to speed the introduction of self-driving cars on American roads.

Chris Urmson, director of Google’s self-driving cars program, will tell the Senate Commerce Committee that legislators should grant new authority to the U.S. Transportation Department to help get fully autonomous vehicles on the road, according to his prepared testimony, which was reviewed by Reuters.

“We propose that Congress move swiftly to provide the secretary of transportation with new authority to approve life­saving safety innovations. This new authority would permit the deployment of innovative safety technologies that meet or exceed the level of safety required by existing federal standards, while ensuring a prompt and transparent process,” according to the prepared testimony.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Paul Simao)

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2016/03/14/google-to-urge-congress-to-help-get-self-driving-cars-on-roads/feed/01895788Google to urge Congress to help get self-driving cars on roadsSenate schedules rare Saturday vote on bill to limit NSA surveillance powershttp://venturebeat.com/2015/05/21/senate-schedules-rare-saturday-vote-on-bill-to-limit-nsa-surveillance-powers/
http://venturebeat.com/2015/05/21/senate-schedules-rare-saturday-vote-on-bill-to-limit-nsa-surveillance-powers/#respondThu, 21 May 2015 19:16:35 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1734663The body will vote on the Freedom Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives by a resounding 338-88 majority last week.
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The Senate has scheduled a vote this Saturday on a bill that would scale back the National Security Agency’s ability to collect surveillance data.

The body will vote on the Freedom Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives by a resounding 338-88 majority last week.

Congress is under pressure to pass a new bill, as the current body of laws that covers government surveillance powers is set to expire June 1.

But intense political pressure has reportedly forced McConnell and the Republicans to call for the vote on Saturday.

This is not the first time the Freedom Act has been proposed. It was voted down along party lines in the Senate last year. The chances of passage are greater this time around, analysts say.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) spoke on the floor of the Senate for almost 11 hours last night, trying to inspire further debate on the new bill in the chamber.

Several polls have shown that most Americans believe that the government’s surveillance powers should be reduced, and that lawmakers’ views on surveillance do not match up with the views of their constituents. Many lawmakers believe that data from wide-sweeping surveillance operations continue to aid in discovering, disrupting, and preventing terrorist attacks.

The Patriot Act was born in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, but the political climate has changed. The 2013 revelations brought about by Edward Snowden regarding the government’s broad ability to gather phone records and Internet usage data alarmed many Americans.

The House and Senate held hearings yesterday on a legislative proposal that would prevent Internet service providers from setting up for-pay Internet “fast lanes” without reclassifying the Internet as a public utility.

The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) would do essentially everything net neutrality proponents have been asking for.

That includes barring ISPs like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast from slowing down or blocking traffic to or from certain websites or certain users.

But while Congress debates a legislative solution, the FCC is moving forward toward its own ruling on the matter. That would very likely be a “hybrid” solution in which the “last mile” of the Internet (the connection between the local ISP and the household) would be regulated like a public utility under Title II, but the Internet backbone, comprising the long-haul fiber lines that connect regional markets, would remain free of Title II restrictions. Those fiber lines are owned by players like Verizon and Level 3, which sell wholesale access to regional “last mile” providers, content delivery networks (CDNs) like Akamai, and large content companies like Amazon and Netflix.

The FCC’s ruling could come any time now, even as the Thune/Upton bill is making the rounds on Capitol Hill. If the ruling proposes classifying even part of the Internet under Title II, it will be met immediately with a legal challenge, a Washington source tells VentureBeat.

How we got here

Remember that the FCC’s new round of deliberations on the subject started because of a court decision in January 2014. Reacting to a Verizon lawsuit, a DC District Court struck down the FCC’s first attempt at a set of net neutrality rules. The court was clear that the FCC has the right to establish and enforce net neutrality principles, but said the first set of “open Internet” rules rested on a shaky legal foundation. It sent the ball back into the FCC’s court.

The FCC then suggested a new set of rules last May that seemed to leave the door open for Internet “fast lane” deals, enraging many in the tech business. Network neutrality proponents fear an Internet where big ISPs can sell fast lanes to the richest Internet content companies like Network and Amazon, leaving smaller competing companies at a disadvantage because the packets containing their content won’t be delivered as quickly.

Meanwhile, the Thune/Upton bill faces its own problems. The bill has the best chance of any net neutrality bill we’ve seen yet (it’s got Republican sponsored and faces a GOP-controlled Congress, which will help). But President Obama has already voiced his support for an Internet regulated under Title II. So even if the bill makes it through both the House and Senate, the president still may not sign it. As we saw in the president’s State of the Union address, Obama has become more willing to act unilaterally to impose his will on certain issues like the Keystone pipeline, and, possibly, network neutrality.

The president, and FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, want the agency to have the authority to collect universal service taxes on Internet service in the same way it does for voice service. It also wants to be able to regulate regarding user privacy issues.

Our Washington source said, however, that the Thune/Upton bill may give network neutrality proponents pretty much everything they’ve been asking for, including an FCC that can impose and enforce network neutrality principals, protections against fast lanes, and protections against throttling or blocking any legal content by ISPs.

Still, we’re not likely to see longtime network neutrality proponents suddenly abandon their campaigns for classing the Internet as a public utility. Rather, they will hold on to that demand until the very end, as a way of negotiating for the most consumer-friendly set of rules they can get — either in a Congressional bill or in an FCC ruling.

Stay tuned. This fight isn’t even close to being over.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2015/01/22/fcc-and-congress-jockey-for-position-in-net-neutrality-fight/feed/01647602FCC and Congress jockey for position in net neutrality fightSilicon Valley deserves a congressman who actually gets things done. Go vote. (op-ed)http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/03/silicon-valley-deserves-a-congressman-who-actually-gets-things-done-go-vote-op-ed/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/03/silicon-valley-deserves-a-congressman-who-actually-gets-things-done-go-vote-op-ed/#respondMon, 03 Nov 2014 18:44:47 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1594233Tomorrow's election is a fight against incumbency in American democracy. No regular business would tolerate such poor performance.
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Tomorrow, citizens of the 17th Congressional District will go to the polls and decide the fate of representative democracy in Silicon Valley. As longtime incumbent Rep. Mike Honda and his tech-industry supported challenger, Ro Khanna, are nearly identical on issues of policy, the decision is really what each Democrat could get accomplished in the House of Representatives.

Honda has only passed one law in the last 14 years. One law. Yet because incumbency rates in the U.S. are consistently over 80 percent, a congressmember can do almost anything they want after winning once and still get re-elected. This is the sad fact of American democracy.

The need for more effective representation is why San Francisco’s key newspaper is backing Ro Khanna. “Our endorsement of Ro Khanna is not so much a repudiation of Honda as a recognition of the opportunity for an upgrade for a congressional district defined by innovation, resourcefulness, and a commitment to meritocracy,” wrote the Editorial Board at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Honda has had more than enough opportunity to show that he can perform at his job, and he has sadly fallen short.

A lot of criticism has targeted Khanna as a puppet of the Silicon Valley elite. He prides himself on being close with his billionaire backers, including Google’s Eric Schmidt, one-time Facebook exec Sean Parker, and a long list of wealthy tech celebrities.

This criticism would be justified if his policy positions were much different from Honda’s. But on high-skilled immigration, Honda clearly sided against labor unions and supported nearly every bill that would bring in more talented engineers from around the world. He even wrote a glowing op-ed on the contributions of tech immigrants to the economy.

Honda has written bills on enhancing cybersecurity, health technology, and skills-based education. It’s hard to imagine a representative more committed to tech issues. In fact, if I were making the argument that Honda were in bed with the tech industry, it’d be difficult to prove otherwise from his record alone.

So, this election isn’t about whether San Jose will have a congressmember that stands up to the tech industry. Technology is the district’s constituency. It’s the role of their representative to support it.

Will Khanna prove more effective than Honda? We don’t know. Anyone who heaps praise on Khanna or his ability after the election is dabbling in irresponsible speculation. But I do know that mathematically speaking, it can’t get any worse than zero — which is the expected number of bills that will come from the 17th District should Khanna lose.

Tomorrow’s election is a fight against incumbency in American democracy. No regular business would tolerate such poor performance.

For those who live in the 17th District (or know someone who does), I urge my fellow citizens to vote. Vote not because you want to see one industry’s interest dominate Congress. Vote because you believe our elected leaders should accomplish things.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/11/03/silicon-valley-deserves-a-congressman-who-actually-gets-things-done-go-vote-op-ed/feed/01594233Silicon Valley deserves a congressman who actually gets things done. Go vote. (op-ed)From DJs to CEOs: the meteoric rise of Global #Webit Congresshttp://venturebeat.com/2014/08/28/from-djs-to-ceos-the-meteoric-rise-of-global-webit-congress/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/08/28/from-djs-to-ceos-the-meteoric-rise-of-global-webit-congress/#respondThu, 28 Aug 2014 15:03:07 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1538290VB INSIGHT: Global #Webit Congress, one of the more influential tech events on the global conference calendar, attracts over 10,000 attendees from more than 110 countries. It brings startups, corporations, vendors, agencies, investors, media, and more to Istanbul annually. And yet, six years ago at the inaugural event, many of the attendees were expecting DJs and music. “The first […]
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VB INSIGHT:

Global #Webit Congress, one of the more influential tech events on the global conference calendar, attracts over 10,000 attendees from more than 110 countries. It brings startups, corporations, vendors, agencies, investors, media, and more to Istanbul annually.

And yet, six years ago at the inaugural event, many of the attendees were expecting DJs and music.

“The first event was a disaster,” Plamen Russev, the founder and organizer of Global Webit Congress, said to VentureBeat in a phone interview. “Over 30 percent of the 1,000 people we attracted thought it was a techno music event, not a technology conference.”

Russev, who is based in Sofia and Varna in Bulgaria, is a serial entrepreneur, experienced consultant, best-selling author, and public speaker, and he’s used to thinking on his feet. His response to this first-year marketing mix-up?

“We found a bunch of DJs to come in and save the day. In fact, that is exactly how the famous Webit party got started! This year, it is being hosted by Fashion TV,” Russev said.

I took some time with Russev to look at how the congress has managed to become a world-leading event in a relatively short amount of time; it now boasts over 200 speakers from organizations such as MasterCard, AOL, Ubuntu, Y Combinator, SAP, Coca-Cola, and Cisco.

“I started Webit Congress for two reasons,” Russev said. “It was both an entrepreneurial project and a way of helping to change what was happening here in Eastern Europe.”

Before creating Webit Congress, Russev noticed that many of the smart, switched-on entrepreneurs, developers, and technologists in the area were leaving their families behind to find their fortune in other countries, such as the USA, U.K., and Canada. He couldn’t understand the rationale behind the exodus and wanted to offer them a chance to stay home.

“It’s digital. You should be able to be wherever you want,” said Russev. “Why leave and go to other countries? Why leave your families behind?”

The subject of family ties is close to Russev’s heart. “Webit wouldn’t be where it is today without the help and support of my own family, including my wife, Aniela Russeva, who is SVP of business development,” Russev said.

He also said, “I wanted to change the balance and give people the opportunity to stay here. I asked myself, why not get the world to come and meet the talent in their homes so they can stay where they’re happiest?”

And so an entrepreneurial dream was born.

Keeping the party going

In the early days of Webit, the event was in Sofia, Bulgaria. At the time, Sofia did not have a stake in the global digital market, but there was clearly a passion for learning and education. Despite the first-year mix-up with the rave crowd, the event grew quickly.

Year two saw 2,500 attendees travel to Bulgaria for the congress. In the third year, 5,000 visitors arrived from 22 countries, speaking 19 different languages. But then Webit hit a snag that could have threatened the growth of this nascent tech event.

“Sofia was just too small for the event at that point, so we had to make a difficult decision and relocate,” Russev told me.

“Dubai and Barcelona were almost chosen as the new location for Webit — in fact, Dubai made a great case for moving the event to the U.A.E. — but in the end we decided that Istanbul was the best destination,” Russev said. “Turkey is truly the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia and has a special significance historically; the former Constantinople was the capital of four empires, the center of power and influence.”

“That first year in Istanbul was incredible,” Russev said. “We had higher-level contacts than ever before; 6,800 people arrived at the event and 40 percent of them were C-level attendees. The next year, we had to move to an even bigger venue in Istanbul, and we were rewarded with 8,200 visitors from 103 countries.”

How big is this “bigger venue?” The Haliç Congress Center boasts 110,000 square meters of event space and even has a marina. The more seafaring visitors can even arrive at the event by boat, and both vendors and investors turn the harbor into something reminiscent of Monaco or Cannes. The after-hours lineup at Webit has become as important as the conference itself.

To put Webit’s growth in context, SXSW Interactive is currently only three times bigger, and that event has been going since 1995. It took SXSWI fifteen years to get to where Webit have in six.

In addition to the 200-plus speakers who create a challenging and informative agenda across two streams — the Digital Marketing and Innovation Conference and the Leaders of the Future Tech Summit — Webit Congress is also host to the Founders Games, a chance for startups to get their hands on a share of a 1 million euro (U.S. $1.32 million) grant.

Over 1,600 startups applied for this year’s games, and up to 200 of those will receive a free expo table at the Congress, free tickets to the event, and a share of the grant money to use within advertising.

“Our Founders Games are not for profit,” Russev said. “Some people think it is a business. Some believe it is evangelism. Actually, it is both.”

The future for Webit looks bright. In the words of Gary Liu, the head of labs at Spotify, “It is so large and so incredibly diverse. There are very few conferences around the world that look and feel like this. Webit has captured something really special here in Istanbul.”

For Russev, the realisation of his vision means more than just ever-growing visitor numbers and heartfelt testimonials.

“Six years ago, people didn’t know the word ‘digital’ in this area of the world — no exaggeration. Now the dream of bringing the world to our doorstep is coming true. The one thing everyone here has in common? They’re all in search of talent and great ideas,” said Russev.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/08/28/from-djs-to-ceos-the-meteoric-rise-of-global-webit-congress/feed/01538290From DJs to CEOs: the meteoric rise of Global #Webit CongressU.S. Senator Patrick Leahy's latest privacy bill culls NSA surveillancehttp://venturebeat.com/2014/07/29/u-s-senator-patrick-leahys-latest-privacy-bill-culls-nsa-surveillance/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/29/u-s-senator-patrick-leahys-latest-privacy-bill-culls-nsa-surveillance/#respondTue, 29 Jul 2014 19:28:15 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1515994Today, Senator Patrick Leahy is putting a new bill on the table for consideration, one that bans bulk collection of U.S. citizen phone records and Internet data and that limits the amount of information the National Security Agency can pull in for a search. Last month the House passed a similar version of the bill last […]
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Today, Senator Patrick Leahy is putting a new bill on the table for consideration, one that bans bulk collection of U.S. citizen phone records and Internet data and that limits the amount of information the National Security Agency can pull in for a search.

Last month the House passed a similar version of the bill last month, but critics complained that it was insufficient. The House bill curbs NSA searches by limiting funding and preventing requests for “backdoors” from private companies or organizations.

Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, has updated his version of the Freedom Acton a couple counts. First, it replaces bulk data collection with searches that have a limited scope. The NSA is a allowed to collect detailed records on persons within two degrees of a suspected terrorist, if the agency can prove reasonable suspicion that the subject has connections to a terrorist organization.

Second, the bill also requires some level of transparency and oversight. As an example, the government must provide the number of people it has collected information on and how many were Americans. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court will also be required to consult with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight board to create a special panel of civil liberties advocates.

Leahy has been working on Internet privacy reform bills since 2005, but he just can’t seem to get them passed into law. His interest in privacy also spans beyond FISA and NSA surveillance. In January, he introduced a bill centered on setting cyber security standards for the Web. Items included establishing punishment for identity theft, setting security standards for businesses who handle customers’ personal data, and creating a framework for notifying customers when data breaches occur.

But since the PRISM revelations, the privacy community and many U.S. citizens have been asking for regulation to curtail the NSA and its surveillance practices. As it stands now there are three major laws that govern privacy: the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and the Patriot Act.

FISA allows the NSA to wiretap without a warrant as long as the surveillance pertains to a grave attack, sabotage, or espionage against the United States, as long as its not of a U.S. citizen. The ECPA, written in 1986, says law enforcement can access any “electronic correspondence” that’s been stored for 180 days without a warrant. As you can tell this legislation was written long before storing information on the internet was widely adopted. In 2001, however, former President George W. Bush passed The Patriot Act, widening criteria for unwarranted searches and wiretaps to combat terrorism.

“The Senate bill is a vast improvement over the final House bill, which was unfortunately watered down. The Senate USA Freedom Act narrows key loopholes on bulk data collection and offers greater transparency, which is essential for citizens in a free democracy,” says Ed Black, Computer and Communications Industry Association President and CEO, in a statement.

The new bill certainly is more robust than the House bill, but who knows if it will stay the same. The bill still has to go to a vote, and Leahy’s colleagues may want to make revisions before then.

It’s also August, traditionally a inert time for Congress. With many senators gearing up for the campaign trail and elections in November, we may not see activity on this bill for a while. The general pace of passed legislation from Congress has dwindled in recent years. In the first term of Congress only 55 laws were passed, according to the Pew Research Center. That’s less than the 112th Congress (2011-2012) passed in its first term. The 112th Congress is considered to be one of the least productive in history.

Last night, privacy advocates’ one guiding star in the darkness of mass surveillance reform disappeared as a bill to the end bulk collection of data was significantly altered.

This morning a rash of digital civil liberty groups withdrew support for the USA Freedom Act, which was the only bill in the House of Representatives with enough momentum to end the most controversial parts of National Security Agency surveillance.

“The Electronic Frontier Foundation cannot support a bill that doesn’t achieve the goal of ending mass spying,” wrote the EFF in blog post that had everything but sad emoticons to express the organization’s disappointment. Specifically, the amended bill has squishy language on the kinds of targets and people the NSA would be allowed to surveil.

“The new version not only adds the undefined words ‘address’ and ‘device,’ but makes the list of potential selection terms open-ended by using the term ‘such as.’ Congress has been clear that it wishes to end bulk collection, but given the government’s history of twisted legal interpretations, this language can’t be relied on to protect our freedoms,” the EFF explains.

Senior officials don’t see it that way. “I can’t imagine what scenario they’re thinking about,” an anonymous official told the Washington Post. “There’s definitely no desire anywhere in any part of the government to keep some door open to large scale collection.”

But it really don’t matter whether security hawks or civil liberty advocates are right in this case. Several Congress staff from leadership positions told me recently it is difficult for the most unproductive Congress in history to pass any meaningful reform before the 2014 election.

There was a glimmer of a hope that NSA reform might be the one big thing they tackle. Now, with widespread opposition to a bill and the resulting fight in the Senate, even if both parts of Congress manage to pass a bill, they’d have to then come together for a final product in the midst of widespread controversy.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/21/there-goes-hope-for-nsa-reform-at-least-this-year/feed/01478035There goes hope for NSA reform — at least this yearCongress to NSA: The unlimited mass data collection stops nowhttp://venturebeat.com/2014/05/08/congress-to-nsa-the-unlimited-mass-data-collection-stops-now/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/08/congress-to-nsa-the-unlimited-mass-data-collection-stops-now/#respondThu, 08 May 2014 15:39:59 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1468964A bill to end the National Security Agency's mass collection of telephone records passed unanimously in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.
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A bill to end the National Security Agency’s mass collection of telephone records passed unanimously in the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

A few congressional staffers told VentureBeat it’s unlikely that Congress will actually pass any big, meaningful legislation until after the midterm elections this fall. But the unanimous passage of a bill to end bulk surveillance is a very telling sign of Congress’ (eventual) willingness to change the government’s spying practices.

“The new version of the USA Freedom Act is a strong first step to undoing the damage of the government’s tortured interpretation of the Patriot Act,” wrote digital civil liberties watchdog the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The USA Freedom Act would follow the recommendation of President Obama’s own surveillance oversight group, which is handing the collection of bulk telephone records to the telecommunications companies themselves, rather than the NSA. The bill would also require judicial approval to search phone numbers.

According to the National Journal, the committee voted down an amendment offered by former Microsoft VP Susan DelBene to allow more flexibility in how tech companies report requests for user data.

“This legislation should provide stronger transparency provisions to ensure that users know, with as much granularity as possible, how and when the government issues orders for user data and how many accounts are affected,” argues the EFF.

Right now, tech companies report the number of user requests in large bands (1-9,999 users). It’s good for knowing whether the government is looking at thousands or millions of users, but we don’t know if the total number of requests are going up or down.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/08/congress-to-nsa-the-unlimited-mass-data-collection-stops-now/feed/01468964Congress to NSA: The unlimited mass data collection stops nowSilicon Valley candidate wins key endorsement from San Francisco paperhttp://venturebeat.com/2014/05/05/silicon-valley-candidate-wins-key-endorsement-from-san-francisco-paper/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/05/silicon-valley-candidate-wins-key-endorsement-from-san-francisco-paper/#respondTue, 06 May 2014 05:30:59 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1467658Democrat Ro Khanna is running for a House seat representing San Jose and Silicon Valley, and he just picked up a key newspaper endorsement from the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Some key investors in Silicon Valley are hoping to unseat a congressman who, by all accounts, is pretty friendly to their goals. It’s a long shot — as is any attempt to unseat an incumbent — but the campaign just won a potentially significant ally.

Last weekend, Democrat Ro Khanna, who is backed by the likes of former Facebook president Sean Parker, picked up a key newspaper endorsement from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Khanna is running for the Democratic nomination for the district currently held by Mike Honda, also a Democrat, which includes San Jose and much of Silicon Valley. While the Chronicle’s circulation is waning and much of its iconic building is now leased out to startups, its political endorsements still carry some weight in the area.

“The word among tech executives who are supporting Khanna is that incumbent Honda generally has been supportive of their positions. They just want more. They want — and this district deserves — a stronger voice in Washington,” the Chronicle said in its endorsement, choosing Khanna over long-time Democrat, Mike Honda, in the upcoming northern California primary.

Khanna has grabbed national headlines for his close ties to Silicon Valley. Supporters like Parker and investor Marc Andreesen helped him rake in a staggering $3.73 million — roughly double the $1.91M in Honda’s war chest.

The influential 270 Strategies group, founded by alumni of the Obama campaign, has also been leading Khanna’s charge to unseat Honda.

The battle is not a matter of policy. “The two men largely agreed on nearly every issue,” explains the San Jose Mercury News. And, Honda can boast that he helped bring home lucrative contracts for the Bay Area, including $900 million in federal funding to extend the BART commuter train to his district of San Jose.

Both candidates pretty much agree on immigration, STEM education, the economy and more. However, Silicon Valley wants a representative that offers political clout to match its economic influence on the national stage. Honda cannot boast of many major legislative victors on the big tech issues.

Silicon Valley backers are betting that the 37-year-old patent lawyer and trade representative for Obama will have more muscle.

Nor does Khanna really shy away from his close relationship. “I wear ‘tech groupie’ as a badge of honor,” he said.

If Khanna wins this race it’ll be a watershed moment for Silicon Valley. We’ll be watching closely.

The DATA Act radically improves the federal purse by making it easily searchable in a machine-readable format. The bill is now on its way to the President for signing.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who cosponsored the bill in the House, used Twitter to share some of the benefits this bill will bring.

[tweet https://twitter.com/DarrellIssa/status/460893808667136000]

[tweet https://twitter.com/DarrellIssa/status/460894010572537857]

Why I am so excited that the federal government has finally been empowered with cutting-edge spreadsheet technology? Because the government is massively wasteful.

Up until now, it was virtually impossible for independent watchdog groups to monitor spending for outlandish purchases. For instance, in 2012, the agency that helps overseeing federal spending, the General Services Administration, was caught partying in pricey Las Vegas suites at a conference that cost taxpayers $823,000.

The DATA Act would “show that the GSA seems to be an outlier on its conference budget,” Senator Warner told me.
Warner predicts that watchdog groups will now more easily be able to red-flag outrageous spending.

From a pure data perspective, we could learn all sorts of interesting things about the way our government spends billions of dollars. We could find redundancies, obsolete programs, and plain old corruption.

Broadly speaking, it’s a chance to prove the power of transparency alone in solving big government problems.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/29/congress-accomplishes-something-makes-government-more-transparent/feed/01462426Congress accomplishes something — makes government more transparentAn open source success: EFF ‘awed’ by response to project for easily contacting Congresshttp://venturebeat.com/2014/04/18/eff-contact-congress-project/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/18/eff-contact-congress-project/#respondFri, 18 Apr 2014 16:51:35 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1452526"There’s no tool currently available that would do what we want to do using secure, free software. With a system like this in place, EFF’s efficacy in advocating for your rights can increase dramatically."
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Contacting your Congressperson is about to get a lot simpler.

On Tuesday, the Electronic Frontier Foundation called on hackers to revolutionize how everyday people contact Congress — and it’s been absolutely floored by the response.

The digital rights advocate is building a free, public domain tool that makes it simple to contact any member of Congress from one central location. The EFF and project partner Sunlight Foundation finished the backend themselves, but they needed help from web developers to test all the different forms for each member of Congress.

What is the EFF?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation describes itself as a leading defender of civil liberties in the digital world. It’s a vocal critic of NSA surveillance tactics and “Internet blacklist legislation” like SOPA and PIPA.

For the 535 members of Congress, there are 535 special forms constituents can use to contact their elected representatives. Some have CAPTCHAs, others use dropdown lists, others require a title. The EFF needed to ensure its tool, which reverse-engineers each form, worked for every single one.

The non-profit thought it would take weeks — but after 24 hours, hackers had completed over 90 percent of the project.

“We’re totally awed by the response,” several EFF staffers wrote in an email to contributors. “We’re also exhausted from the crazy work of the last 24 hours.

“Of course, the last leg is always the hardest. These [last 10 percent] are the Congress forms that are particularly tricky, and which have been most challenging for folks on our list.”

Of the 535 forms, hackers have fully tested 529, the project’s GitHub page shows at time of publication. So far, 151 contributors have made 2,657 commits to the GitHub repository.

The organization is rewarding active contributors with some cool swag. Folks who make more than 35 commits get a one year EFF membership, along with an EFF shirt and hat. People who make more than 55 commits get all that, free entry to an EFF party, and a public profile on the EFF’s upcoming ‘tech volunteers’ section.

But the best reward, of course, is helping to facilitate real change in Washington. The easier it is to contact our lawmakers, the organization reasons, the more audible our voices will be in Congress. And because the resource is in the public domain, anyone can hack on and improve it.

“There’s no tool currently available that would do what we want to do using secure, free software. With a system like this in place, EFF’s efficacy in advocating for your rights can increase dramatically.”

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/18/eff-contact-congress-project/feed/01452526An open source success: EFF ‘awed’ by response to project for easily contacting CongressOne of us! This hacker is running for Congress to fight for tech innovatorshttp://venturebeat.com/2014/03/28/one-of-us-this-hacker-is-running-for-congress-to-fight-for-tech-innovators/
http://venturebeat.com/2014/03/28/one-of-us-this-hacker-is-running-for-congress-to-fight-for-tech-innovators/#respondFri, 28 Mar 2014 15:00:55 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=1181134FEATURE: Dave Cole, 28, made his positions available on open source repository Github, participated in a Reddit AMA, and blogs about the campaign on Medium. But will that be enough to win him a seat in Congress?
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FEATURE:

David Cole believes that hackers need more representation in Congress.

So the 28 year old, a software engineer and former general manager at a Washington, D.C., startup called MapBox, is seeking the Democratic nomination for his home district in New Jersey. A win would be a bit of a long shot, but Cole is optimistic that his “outside the box” campaign tactics will inspire voters to take a chance on someone new.

“There aren’t a lot of technology people in policy-making,” said Cole. “But what really pushed me to get involved is to make things better where I grew up.” This is Cole’s first congressional race.

Cole is running for Congress in South Jersey, a district that includes Atlantic City. It’s a region with high unemployment, where many residents don’t have access to high-quality health care, education, or decent Internet access.

But Cole’s first love wasn’t politics; it was computer science. He spent his childhood tinkering with computers before heading to Rutgers University (which is in New Jersey) to study computer science. He eventually switched his major to political science and worked his way up to the White House after graduation (after volunteering for then-Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign). He most recently served as a deputy director of new media for the White House and helped build the Whitehouse.gov website.

During the 2008 Obama campaign, he met and befriended Dan McSwain, another campaign staffer. A partner at D.C. based campaign-strategy firm GEER, McSwain is volunteering as an adviser to the “Cole for Congress” campaign.

For McSwain, it’s an opportunity to pioneer a new kind of campaign: One that involves being transparent about the issues and accessible to digitally-savvy voters. Cole made his positions available on open-source repository Github, and is taking suggestions for improvements from fellow developers, and he recently participated in an “Ask me Anything” (AMA) on Reddit. He’s among the first candidates to use the trendy personal publishing platform Medium as part of his public outreach.

“Dave is pioneering the kind of Internet-friendly campaign that is only going to become more popular,” McSwain told me by phone.

Technology, meet politics

Cole wants to unify technology and politics in two ways: by using digital tools in his campaign, and by focusing on issues that affect anyone with an Internet connection — Net Neutrality, telemedicine, copyright reform, and the protracted fight against patent trolls.

Given his background in government, Cole is also hoping to automate old government IT systems, which are keeping veterans and other groups in the state from accessing social security.

These issues may not seem like a short-term priority for South Jersey residents, who are struggling to make ends meet. But Cole is convinced that technology is relevant and can radically improve people’s lives. For instance, teachers in rural areas in parts of New Jersey lack high-speed broadband, so Cole said he plans to work with the FCC to evaluate how it regulates the Internet.

“It’s unacceptable that we can’t extend the Internet as a vital resource to people across the country,” he said.

“Honestly, it doesn’t matter where technology has been developed [such as tech hubs like Silicon Valley and New York]; it matters where and how it’s being used.”

Standing up to the competition

For all of its promise, Cole is up against some stiff competition.

Within his own party, he’ll need to fend off Democrat Bill Hughes, Jr., a former federal prosecutor and son of former New Jersey Congressman William J. Hughes. He also faces the incumbent Republican, Frank LoBiondo, who has represented the district since 1995.

Hughes is not running a digital-first campaign. His campaign staff recently accused national Republicans of cyber-squatting on a host of websites with Hughes’ name. (At the moment, the site www.billhughesjrforcongress.com directs visitors to a page accusing the candidate of representing New Jersey’s most “corrupt criminals since 2002.”)

But Hughes does come from a family with a political legacy, which means something in New Jersey. Last week, Hughes received the endorsement from the Atlantic County Democrats.

After a grueling few weeks of canvassing, Cole is exhausted, but he’s more convinced than ever that people in New Jersey want change. On March 7, he blew past 200 signatures, making it onto the June 3 ballot.

The pitch on his official campaign website hints that he’s a very different kind of candidate, but doesn’t openly swipe at his rivals: “As an engineer, I am ultimately judged on results — the product I ship — and not just what I say.”

The dirty word: Fundraising

As for the most daunting challenge — fundraising — Cole has a plan. He is raising “small dollar” sums, rather than appealing to the region’s wealthiest residents. He’s also in talks with the superrich investors of Silicon Valley, particularly those with an emotional tie to New Jersey.

Tech execs from Facebook, Google, and the like may be a receptive audience. Increasingly, tech firms are mobilizing and spending big on lobbying Washington. In San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee drummed up a solid supporter-base by positioning the city as a “tech capital,” and Democrat Ro Khanna has outraised incumbent Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) in his bid for Congress. Khanna received much of this support from employees at Yahoo, Google, and other tech companies.

One tech investor I spoke with Emergence Capital Kevin Spain, who hasn’t donated to many political campaigns. But he did say that more tech investors and entrepreneurs are keeping a close eye on politics.

“I have certainly seen more investors take a public stand on political issues, though the issues I see them most frequently advocating for are closely related to tech,” he said.

Still, the Bay Area is not South New Jersey.

Before concluding our interview, Cole stressed that he’s aware of the challenges up ahead, but he’ll run regardless.

“There’s no getting around how expensive it is to run a viable congressional campaign,” said Cole.

“Money is the No. 1 thing holding people back from running for office. It stops young people, teachers, and lawyers. But I believe that small dollar donations are the way forward, and we can bring more diversity to Congress.”

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2014/03/28/one-of-us-this-hacker-is-running-for-congress-to-fight-for-tech-innovators/feed/01181134One of us! This hacker is running for Congress to fight for tech innovatorsCongress shows bipartisan support for the ‘best patent troll-killing bill yet’http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/24/congress-shows-bipartisan-support-for-the-best-patent-troll-killing-bill-yet/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/24/congress-shows-bipartisan-support-for-the-best-patent-troll-killing-bill-yet/#respondThu, 24 Oct 2013 21:56:53 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=846094The Innovation Act, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) is a comprehensive bill aimed at neutralizing patent trolls. And it just might pass.
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Yet another patent reform bill hit the House of Representatives floor yesterday, but this one might actually pass.

First, it requires “heightened pleading,” meaning that patent holders are required to provide specific details when they file a lawsuit and be more transparent about who they are suing and why.

Secondly, it dictates that the loser in a patent case is required to pay the winning side’s fees and costs.

Patent trolls, formally known as “patent assertion entities,” are organizations that buy up patents, not to use them in business, but to file lawsuits against other companies that allegedly infringe upon them. The patents are often extremely vague and the suits frivolous, but defending a lawsuit in court is so expensive that companies will write settlement checks, regardless of the validity of the claims.

The Georgetown Law Journal said that in an estimated 90 percent of cases, the defendants settle before going to trial. However, software-patent holders win just 13 percent of their court cases, meaning if you go to trial, the odds are good.

This provision of the Innovation Act aims to encourage defendants to go to court against groundless claims, because they won’t have to bear the burden of the cost if they win.

The Innovation Act also requires patent trolls to reveal the parties that would actually benefit from the litigation, to prevent trolling for trolling’s sake.

Fourth, the bill lets manufacturers protect their customers from getting sued for patent infringement for using their technology. The bill also shuts down the “expensive and often harassing” discovery until the court has interpreted the patent.

Lastly, the “Covered Business Method” (CBM) program would make it easier to challenge a patent’s validity at the Patent Office. It gives the director of the patent office the power to waive fees for challenging patents and take a closer look at patents passed in the pre-reform days.

There is, of course, some dissension, particularly over the CBM program. The Business Software Alliance, which includes Oracle, Microsoft, and Apple as members opposes expanding the CBM program, although supports the bill in general.

Goodlatte is the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The legislation is co-sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) and Rep Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.).

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/24/congress-shows-bipartisan-support-for-the-best-patent-troll-killing-bill-yet/feed/0846094Congress shows bipartisan support for the ‘best patent troll-killing bill yet’Pending government shutdown, websites for the Library of Congress, FTC, & others will go offlinehttp://venturebeat.com/2013/09/28/pending-government-shutdown-websites-for-the-library-of-congress-ftc-others-will-go-offline/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/28/pending-government-shutdown-websites-for-the-library-of-congress-ftc-others-will-go-offline/#commentsSun, 29 Sep 2013 01:19:34 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=822993Don't plan on using official websites of government organizations if the U.S. government is temporarily shut down due to budget woes.
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That means we’d be denied access to all the really useful things provided by the government, which apparently includes the official websites of many federal organizations, such as the Library of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Park Service, and several others.

“In the event of a temporary shutdown of the federal government, beginning Tuesday, October 1, all Library of Congress buildings will close to the public and researchers. All public events will be cancelled and websites will be inaccessible,” the Library of Congress said in an advisory statement on its website today.

In terms of resources, it doesn’t take much to keep a website running. However, the LOC has noted that several of the services offered on its own site require employees to facilitate them, according to a statement it gave to ArsTechnica. My guess is that the organization doesn’t want to confuse people who try to use these services and become frustrated when they don’t get the expected results — nor would they have anyone to contact those people to explain the situation.

The FTC didn’t issue a statement, but did tell Ars that it would redirect all visitors of its website to a splash page for the duration of the temporary government shutdown. Other organizations like the Department of Veteran Affairs will apparently continue running with a skeleton crew making periodic updates. I’m guessing this will be true of other essential services — where people will push on without pay because the alternative would be worse for others.

Sadly, not every organization has issued a statement about what would happen in the event of a government shutdown, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens if things turn sour. (But when congress does finally come back from leave, hopefully someone has the good sense to introduce a bill — or a line item within next year’s budget — to pay for at least some of these federal services to continue functioning for a time.)

On a positive note, the government shutdown will temporarily put an end to the NSA’s controversial strategy of collecting both public and private personal data on U.S. citizens.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/28/pending-government-shutdown-websites-for-the-library-of-congress-ftc-others-will-go-offline/feed/1822993Pending government shutdown, websites for the Library of Congress, FTC, & others will go offlineDefund the NSA just fails to de-fang made-in-America spyinghttp://venturebeat.com/2013/07/24/defund-the-nsa-just-fails-to-de-fang-made-in-america-spying/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/24/defund-the-nsa-just-fails-to-de-fang-made-in-america-spying/#respondThu, 25 Jul 2013 00:40:50 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=784464For once, Republicans voted with President Barack Obama.
]]>The DefundTheNSA amendment has failed, just barely. But it came close enough to passing to make the men in black wet their panties.

Today Congress was voting on the Amash amendment, legislation that would have added language to the U.S. Patriot Act blocking funding for any NSA programs that use Section 215 of the Patriot Act as legal justification to collection the call records — and likely much more — of Americans, en masse.

Almost half the members of Congress — 205 — voted to pass the amendment, but 217 voted against it. Clearly, Congress is deeply divided, and not just along traditional partisan lines, about NSA surveillance of American citizens.

“While we lost the vote, the fact that over 200 representatives were in support of the amendment, despite lobbying by the NSA and strong opposition from the White House, sends a really strong message,” privacy advocate Sina Khanifar said in an email. “Just seven votes in the other direction would have ended the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records — a fact that must be scaring many proponents of the program in government. And a majority of Democrats voted for the amendment, opposing the White House’s stance.”

For once, Republicans voted with President Barack Obama.

Those in favor of the amendment were 94 Republicans and 111 Democrats, while 134 Republicans and 83 Democrats were opposed. That’s ironic, given the fact that the sitting president, who is of course a Democrat, forcefully opposed the legislation.

“With just one day to organize grassroots, it’s a pretty amazing outcome, and to my knowledge the biggest rebuke of the NSA and Patriot Act’s overreaching surveillance measures yet.”

The DeFundTheNSA website helped galvanize web-based reaction to the vote, driving at least 6,000 calls to House representatives, Khanifar said. It was set up in just five hours by the Rapid Response Internet Task Force that Khanifar has established with involvement from the EFF, Free Press, Mozilla, Fight for the Future, and other organizations.

The bi-partisan legislation was sponsored by Justin Amash (R-MI) and four other representatives.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/24/defund-the-nsa-just-fails-to-de-fang-made-in-america-spying/feed/0784464Defund the NSA just fails to de-fang made-in-America spyingThe full PRISM letter Google, Yahoo, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft are sending congresshttp://venturebeat.com/2013/07/18/the-full-prism-letter-google-yahoo-apple-facebook-and-microsoft-are-sending-congress/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/18/the-full-prism-letter-google-yahoo-apple-facebook-and-microsoft-are-sending-congress/#commentsThu, 18 Jul 2013 19:23:52 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=781520Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many more companies are asking President Barack Obama and the U.S. congress for greater transparency on PRISM, NSA surveillance of Americans, and government requests for data about their customers.
]]>Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many more companies are asking President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress for greater transparency on PRISM, NSA surveillance of Americans, and government requests for data about their customers.

And, they’ve started a WhiteHouse.gov petition to require more accountability from the NSA on its spying programs. Yahoo has also posted to its corporate blog, saying that democracy demands accountability, and accountability requires transparency.

“We are proud to join dozens of our partners across the tech industry, civil society organizations, and trade associations to urge greater transparency by the U.S. government regarding national security demands for our users’ information,” Yahoo’s general counsel Ron Bell wrote.

News broke about the coming letter, which is addressed to Obama and 15 other leading legislators, last night. In the letter, Silicon Valley is essentially asking Washington to be more open. The companies are not asking for all surveillance to go away — they’re too realistic for that — but they do ask for the right to be able to tell their customers how many times the government is asking for information on them.

Here’s the complete letter:

We the undersigned are writing to urge greater transparency around national security-related requests by the U.S. government to Internet, telephone, and web-based service providers for information about their users and subscribers.

First, the U.S. government should ensure that those companies who are entrusted with the privacy and security of their users’ data are allowed to regularly report statistics reflecting:

The number of government requests for information about their users made under specific legal authorities such as Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act, the various National Security Letter (NSL) statutes, and others;

The number of individuals, accounts, or devices for which information was requested under each authority; and

The number of requests under each authority that sought communications content, basic subscriber information, and/or other information.Second, the government should also augment the annual reporting that is already required by statute by issuing its own regular “transparency report” providing the same information: the total number of requests under specific authorities for specific types of data, and the number of individuals affected by each.

As an initial step, we request that the Department of Justice, on behalf of the relevant executive branch agencies, agree that Internet, telephone, and web-based service providers may publish specific numbers regarding government requests authorized under specific national security authorities, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the NSL statutes. We further urge Congress to pass legislation requiring comprehensive transparency reporting by the federal government and clearly allowing for transparency reporting by companies without requiring companies to first seek permission from the government or the FISA Court.

Basic information about how the government uses its various law enforcement–related investigative authorities has been published for years without any apparent disruption to criminal investigations. We seek permission for the same information to be made available regarding the government’s national security–related authorities.

This information about how and how often the government is using these legal authorities is important to the American people, who are entitled to have an informed public debate about the appropriateness of those authorities and their use, and to international users of US-based service providers who are concerned about the privacy and security of their communications.

Just as the United States has long been an innovator when it comes to the Internet and products and services that rely upon the Internet, so too should it be an innovator when it comes to creating mechanisms to ensure that government is transparent, accountable, and respectful of civil liberties and human rights. We look forward to working with you to set a standard for transparency reporting that can serve as a positive example for governments across the globe.

Signing companies include:

AOL

Apple Inc.

CloudFlare

CREDO Mobile

Digg

Dropbox

Evoca

Facebook

Google

Heyzap

LinkedIn

Meetup

Microsoft

Mozilla

Reddit

salesforce.com

Sonic.net

Stripe

Tumblr

Twitter

Yahoo!

YouNow

Nonprofit and trade organizations organizations that are also signing the open letter include:

Access

American Booksellers Foundation for Free

Expression

American Civil Liberties Union

American Library Association

American Society of News Editors

Americans for Tax Reform

Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School Center for Democracy & Technology

Center for Effective Government

Committee to Protect Journalists

Competitive Enterprise Institute

Computer & Communications Industry Association

The Constitution Project

Demand Progress

Electronic Frontier Foundation

First Amendment Coalition

Foundation for Innovation and Internet Freedom

Freedom to Read Foundation

FreedomWorks

Global Network Initiative

GP-Digital

Human Rights Watch

Internet Association

Internet Infrastructure Coalition

Liberty Coalition

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/18/the-full-prism-letter-google-yahoo-apple-facebook-and-microsoft-are-sending-congress/feed/1781520The full PRISM letter Google, Yahoo, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft are sending congressMayer, Benioff, & other Valley bigwigs are trying to ‘buy’ a new congressmanhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/07/10/ro-khanna-congress/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/10/ro-khanna-congress/#commentsThu, 11 Jul 2013 01:35:18 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=777607Ro Khanna probably isn't a name you'd immediately recognize, but if you follow the tech industry that may soon change.
]]>Ro Khanna probably isn’t a name you’d immediately recognize, but if you follow the tech industry, that may soon change.

Khanna is a former Obama administration official who is running for the Silicon Valley district’s congressional seat that’s currently held by Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.). The Hill is reporting today that Khanna’s campaign has raised $1.75 million from a slew of Valley bigwigs, including Sheryl Sandberg, Marissa Mayer, Marc Benioff, and Mike McCue.

In the first three months since announcing he would run for office, Khanna has raised $1 million, which the campaign claims is the highest of any candidate against an incumbent representative without self financing. By comparison, the Honda campaign has raised about $80,000.

The quick (perhaps oversimplified) observation here is that Silicon Valley’s elite are attempting to buy their own congressman — a 36-year-old Democrat with lots of support from Washington and more than a handful of President Barack Obama’s former campaign staffers. (One of his campaign slogans is even tailor-made to make the tech industry’s most prominent figures drool, too: “Let’s take Silicon Valley thinking to Washington.”)

The 71-year-old Honda has been in office over a decade, while Khanna has no prior experience as an elected official. That may be part of Khanna’s appeal for tech leaders, who may believe they’ll be able to have a degree of influence on Capitol Hill thanks to their campaign donations. There is no shortage of outdated, inadequate policy issues burdening the tech sector’s ability to innovate and grow, and I’m betting Silicon Valley bigwigs are more than happy to pay for someone to represent that in Congress.

“The General Services Administration’s decision to indefinitely postpone opening a regional U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Silicon Valley is a shameful consequence of partisan deadlock in Congress. The outcome will impede further innovation and slow economic growth across the country. Funds for the patent office were cut when the sequester passed, a move that exemplifies just how out of touch Congress is with the needs of Silicon Valley. What’s more, the fees collected by the patent office create a system of self-funding that should give it exempt status from the sequester. The implementation of a Silicon Valley branch of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office would speed up the patent process, promoting innovation and creating middle class jobs in the process. Instead of playing a dysfunctional game of partisan politics and voting for sequestration, Congress should be working to support American ingenuity, starting with speeding up the processing of patents and decreasing the patent office’s backlog.”

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/07/10/ro-khanna-congress/feed/1777607Mayer, Benioff, & other Valley bigwigs are trying to ‘buy’ a new congressmanSilicon Valley immigration reformers set their sights on Congresshttp://venturebeat.com/2013/06/30/immigration-reformers-target-congress/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/30/immigration-reformers-target-congress/#respondSun, 30 Jun 2013 17:10:30 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=772448Now that an immigration reform bill has passed the Senate, Silicon Valley is targeting lawmakers in the House.
]]>Now that the Senate has passed the controversial immigration reform bill, Silicon Valley companies and their lobbyists are targeting the next hurdle: the House of Representatives.

Up next: a July 10 meeting for the House Republican Conference, which lobbyists hope will shed some light on immigration reform’s chances in the House.

Immigration reform faces a much bigger challenge in the Republican-controlled House than it did in the Democratic-led Senate. Still, the Senate’s immigration bill was a carefully-crafted bipartisan effort, so there is some cause for Silicon Valley to be hopeful.

But it’s a political hot-button issue. To get the bill passed, tradeoffs may include an even more beefed-up border with Mexico, more immigration enforcement, and maybe even a biometric database tracking every American.

“We’re going to use every tool that we can come up with to try to encourage lawmakers to complete this bill this year and to finally address the high-skilled immigration challenges we have been facing,” said Intel government relations head Peter Muller, in an interview with The Hill.

“We’re going to keep the drum beat going,” said Veronica O’Connell, a congressional affairs executive at the Consumer Electronics Association, in the same article. “We’re going to meet with leadership on both sides of the House and keep up our messaging.”

The article notes that a bill to raise the cap on H1-B visas (used by many tech companies to bring in skilled engineers and programmers from abroad), sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), had passed the House Judiciary Committee — a promising sign for immigration reformers.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/30/immigration-reformers-target-congress/feed/0772448Silicon Valley immigration reformers set their sights on Congress6 tech policy issues you should be followinghttp://venturebeat.com/2013/06/19/6-tech-policy-issues-you-should-be-following/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/19/6-tech-policy-issues-you-should-be-following/#respondWed, 19 Jun 2013 16:30:20 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=724790It's time to begin paying attention to the tech policies formulated in the U.S right now., starting with the 5 very important policy issues we've listed below:
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CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing & Protection Act)

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is a bill that attempts to give American companies a greater degree of protection against cyber security threats. It does this by allowing the government to become a “middleman” of sorts by sharing cyber threat data from all the tech/web companies. Some of these companies are already sharing data, which may or may not be against the law, but if CISPA passes they will absolutely be exempt from prosecution.

Why it could be bad: Some of the bill’s stipulations are vague, including those that protect against the government’s interest in personal data and how far companies are allowed to go when grabbing that data. Many people feel there should be safeguards to protect individual privacy rights.

Status: It passed a vote by the House. And the Senate committee in charge of reviewing CISPA’s House bill has vowed not to review it, deciding instead to draft its own cybersecurity legislation. That doesn’t mean CISPA is dead, as VentureBeat previously pointed out. One of those Senate bills could easily morph back into something very similar to the CISPA House bill, only with a different name.

Marketplace Fairness Act (a.k.a. the Internet Sales Tax bill)

The Marketplace Fairness Act is an attempt to give states the authority to force online sellers to collect sales tax from people who buy products or services from them. The bill was named because of its intent to take away Internet retailers’ advantage of not having to charge sales tax on their items — whereas physical stores do have to collect those taxes.

Why it could be bad: Currently, the bill requires any company to collect taxes if it generates more than $1 million in revenue from out-of-state consumers. The problem is, collecting sales tax from 50 states (let alone cities and counties) is a very complicated task and something that small businesses won’t be able to do easily or cheaply — even though this act does have some provisions to simplify the current state of affairs. Bigger online retailers can handle this type of sales tax collection, so it really just gives companies like Amazon another advantage over the smaller, physical retail stores.

Status: The Marketplace Fairness Act passed a vote in the Senate despite lots of pushback from House members who don’t like the bill at all. Of course, this doesn’t mean it won’t pass, but it could at least end up a little watered down. For instance, an amended version may increase the amount of out-of-state revenue a business generates before it has to collect sales tax to $10 million. Another possible amendment could place a stipulation on the number of employees a company has on salary before the Marketplace Fairness Act would apply to them.

DMCA reform (a.k.a. why you can’t legally unlock your smartphone)

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was originally passed into law in December 1998 to provide media companies with some instruction when it came to licensing content to third-parties. It was later revised, as the Internet became a much bigger force, to give music labels and movie studios some protection against digital piracy. Back then, it sort of made sense, because all media was transitioning into a digital market via consumers faster than copyright holders could adapt to a new business model. DMCA has been effective on some levels because it established a basis for the new frontier of digital copyright law, but it wasn’t able to predict the future — so parts of the law actually hinder innovation and diminish consumer protections to ensure businesses who own those copyrights can make money.

Why it is broken: Today, digital media copyright laws are a total and absolute mess. I could easily fill an entire feature article with specific examples of how DMCA is broken, but I’ll zero in on a single aspect of the law that may actually get reformed in the near future.

The flaw is found in section 1201 of the bill, which treats software as if it were a hit radio single or blockbuster movie.

It prevents consumers in the U.S. from altering the software that comes baked into mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, in order to make them work on any wireless carrier. You can buy an iPhone, resell it, or disassemble it for parts, but altering the operating system without permission from the carrier is punishable by up to five years in prison and a hefty $50,000 fine.

ECPA reform (a.k.a. email privacy laws)

The Electronic Communication Privacy Act (ECPA) was created in the 1980s, a decade known for producing legendary musical hits from Phil Collins but not so much for its strides in outlining the fundamentals of email communication. The law was created to make sure authorities had a good reason for investigating any electronic communication. As a result, stored electronic communication was treated like physical property for the most part, meaning a warrant was needed prior to investigating the communication. It also added stipulations for wiretapping telephone calls and other electronic communication as it was being sent. For the ’80s this was perfectly acceptable, but it’s pretty outdated over 30 years later.

Why it’s broken: In the ’80s the “cloud” was still only something you’d see in the sky. Email was only being sent between devices over the Internet and stored on devices (computers) that could be considered personal property. So needless to say, the ECPA has no real specifications for handling privacy protections for electronic communication stored in the cloud, i.e., servers that are not in someone’s personal possession. If you had a basement of mail servers in your house that the government wanted access to, they couldn’t touch it without a warrant. But since Google is holding your data, the ECPA has been interpreted to allow authorities to access it after it’s been stored 180 days, because at that point it’s deemed abandoned. The EPCA also has different regulations for opened and unopened email messages. This law is so outdated that it’s an easy target for reform.

Status: ECPA reform is making some headway already. A revised version of the law introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), which requires authorities to obtain a warrant before being able to access your email regardless of where or how it’s stored, passed unanimously in the Senate last month. The ECPA reform still needs to get through a House committee and then win a vote on the House floor. There’s no telling how long that might take.

CFAA reform (a.k.a. preventing the next Aaron Swartz tragedy)

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) is a nasty law that makes it illegal for someone to intentionally access a computer without authorization or to access it at a level beyond the level they have authorization for.

More specifically, CFAA makes hacking illegal. Hacking can run the gamut from the sinister to the benign, yet the CFAA doesn’t distinguish between those instances.

CFAA is mostly a criminal law (meaning harsher punishments) that’s been amended so that it can be tried in civil courts. Yet it still has very harsh punishments. First-time offenders of CFAA face a minimum of five years in prison; and repeat offenders face 10 to 15 years. That’s in addition to hefty fines. Depending on what violation you’re charged with within the CFAA, you could face harsher punishments even for a first-time offense.

Why it’s broken: CFAA is extremely vague when it comes to defining what constitutes “accessing a computer without authorization,” and it’s even more vague about what it means for someone to knowingly exceed their authorization on a computer. It also doesn’t make any distinction based on the motive of the offender, which allows prosecutors to manipulate the final sentence far beyond what’s reasonable or fair.

Tragically, this is exactly what happened to 26-year-old Internet activist Aaron Swartz, who faced charges for downloading about 20 million academic documents from PACER in 2008, and again years later for downloading and distributing another 5 million academic documents from for-fee database JSTOR. The second violation alone landed Swartz 13 felony counts. In the aftermath of the prosecution activity, Swartz took his own life — with many saying the overly harsh CFAA charges were a main contributor to his suicide. Swartz wasn’t hacking nuclear missile guidance computer systems, he was making scientific research available to those who would use and learn from it.

Status: There have been several attempts to introduce new legislation that would reform CFAA, but nothing has gained significant traction. Earlier this year, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) introduced a bill, Aaron’s Law, that would have limited the number of charges brought against someone under CFAA. And in March, a reformed version of CFAA that took a harsher stance against hacking crimes got a cold reception when it was introduced in the House. This is a tech policy issue people want to see fixed not just because it’s broken, but also to honor Swartz’s memory by preventing the same thing from happening to others in the future.

Most people don’t realize it, but you can’t actually just decide to create your own line of automobiles and sell them like you would any other product. This seems to be especially true for electric car manufacturer Tesla and its real-life-Tony Stark founder, Elon Musk. Car dealership groups in all 50 states are throwing hissy fits because Tesla wants to allow people to come to its physical retail stores, buy a Model S roadster that day, and have it delivered right to their homes. The auto dealers don’t like Tesla’s model because it cuts out the need for car dealerships entirely. At the very least, Musk’s approach hints that having a two-acre lot with tons of unsold, expensive vehicles might not be the best way to sell cars.

There isn’t a single law governing car sales, but rather a group of state laws with their own guidelines and regulations for selling automobiles. They’re complicated. They’re also very deeply entrenched.

Why these laws are broken: Currently, you can’t buy a Tesla car in many states, such as Virginia or Texas. A potential Tesla customer has to go home to both order and pay for the car online via Tesla’s website. In some cases, the car has to come from California to comply with state laws on dealerships. That’s a tad ridiculous, especially considering the benefits an electric car revolution could have on the economy and the environment. This is a broken law that’s being upheld because auto dealers are worried that without auto dealer regulations, their jobs will be on the line. (I’m all for saving jobs, but not at the expense of innovation that promotes cleaner energy usage and inches us close to Knight Rider becoming a reality.)

Status: Tesla could seek help from federal courts for a decision that would allow it to operate regardless of state regulations. It recently won a small victory in Texas, which will now allow the company to sell cars directly from its retail stores, but only for the first few thousand vehicles. After that, Tesla will need to be approved for a dealer’s license, which has some pretty unreasonable requirements given the company’s business strategy of cutting out the whole dealership process to begin with.

Failing a federal court ruling, Tesla could lobby Congress for its own legislation, allowing it to supersede state automotive dealership laws.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/19/6-tech-policy-issues-you-should-be-following/feed/07247906 tech policy issues you should be followingStop Watching Us brings 85 organizations together to demand truth and transparency on PRISMhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/06/11/stop-watching-us-brings-85-organizations-together-to-demand-truth-and-transparency-on-prism/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/11/stop-watching-us-brings-85-organizations-together-to-demand-truth-and-transparency-on-prism/#respondTue, 11 Jun 2013 16:36:56 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=755579"The revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights," the organization's open letter reads. "We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA's spying programs."
]]>A brand-new organization composed almost at light speed to oppose the broad surveillance activities of the NSA’s PRISM program is calling on Congress to stop spying on Americans and reveal the full truth.

“The revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights,” the organization’s open letter reads. “We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA’s spying programs.”

The 85 participating organizations include well-known companies and organizations such as Reddit, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive, the Mozilla foundation, the World Wide Web Foundation, and the American Library Association. Concerned citizens who have added their names to the letter so far include author Cory Doctorow and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian.

The signatories believe that PRISM is unconstitutional and therefore illegal, and have set up a website at StopWatching.us to collect more signatures and coalesce support for a political challenge to PRISM.

“This type of blanket data collection by the government strikes at bedrock American values of freedom and privacy,” the organization’s open letter reads. “This dragnet surveillance violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which protect citizens’ right to speak and associate anonymously and guard against unreasonable searches and seizures that protect their right to privacy.”

As part of the effort, Mozilla will be setting up Firefox to link directly to the StopWatching.us website from the browser’s start page.

“That means that every time users open a Firefox browser window, they’ll see a message regarding the campaign,” Sina Khanifar, who led the effort to push through cell phone unlocking legislation, told me via email. “They’ve been instrumental in pulling this together, and I’m personally very excited about having millions of eyeballs directed at this message.”

StopWatching.us wants Congress to repeal Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which provides some cloak of legality to the surveillance program, reform the FISA Act, which allows mass surveillance, and amend the state secrets privilege, which prevents the government from being held accountable.

In addition, StopWatching.us is calling on Congress to fully investigate and report on PRISM, and to hold accountable public officials found to be responsible.

“Unwarranted government surveillance is an intrusion on basic human rights that threatens the very foundations of a democratic society,” Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Internet, recently said.”

StopWatching.us will be holding a call today to discuss the new initiative, recent revelations, and a coordinated response.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/06/11/stop-watching-us-brings-85-organizations-together-to-demand-truth-and-transparency-on-prism/feed/0755579Stop Watching Us brings 85 organizations together to demand truth and transparency on PRISMMove over C-SPAN, Congress is getting supercharged YouTube channelshttp://venturebeat.com/2013/05/01/youtube-congress/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/01/youtube-congress/#respondWed, 01 May 2013 15:51:45 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=728846It's difficult to connect with our members of congress, who have busy schedules traveling between their hometowns and Washington D.C., but YouTube is trying to make things a bit easier.
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It’s difficult to connect with our members of congress, who have busy schedules traveling between their hometowns and Washington D.C., but YouTube is trying to make things a bit easier.

The move is nice, especially because the YouTube channels fit into the daily routine of most people — meaning they probably spend some time every day watching videos on YouTube. I’m guessing the same can’t be said for C-SPAN, the public access channel dedicated to government dealings.

Over the last year, Google and YouTube has significantly stepped up its efforts to provide video coverage for the government. It’s encouraged congress members to conduct live Google Hangouts via Google+, which allows constituents to ask questions via video chat. It also set up its own political hub to help collect coverage of the 2012 presidential election as well as provided coverage of the Republican National Convention.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/05/01/youtube-congress/feed/0728846Move over C-SPAN, Congress is getting supercharged YouTube channelsCopyright, DMCA, and public interest: House Judiciary Committee to conduct ‘comprehensive review’ of U.S. copyright lawhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/04/24/copyright-dmca-and-public-interest-house-judiciary-committee-to-conduct-comprehensive-review-of-u-s-copyright-law/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/24/copyright-dmca-and-public-interest-house-judiciary-committee-to-conduct-comprehensive-review-of-u-s-copyright-law/#commentsWed, 24 Apr 2013 23:17:50 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=722873"The DMCA's unintended consequences on our rights to modify and repair the electronics we buy, and to remix and make fair use of copyright content could easily be fixed as part of a larger Copyright reform act."
]]>The U.S. House Judiciary Committee will conduct a comprehensive review of U.S. copyright law over the coming months, the committee’s chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), announced today.

Copyright law in the U.S. was created in 1790, edited in 1831, updated in 1909 for “motion pictures,” and extended to unpublished works in 1976. Which means, according to the current Register of Copyright Maria Pallante, who leads the U.S. Copyright Office, that it is high time for an update.

“We always love it when law is brought up to speed with technology,” Josh Mendelsohn of Silicon Valley’s political advocacy organization Engine.is. “Hopefully we’ll get some some good legislation out of it.”

The review is welcomed by those looking for more freedom and less corporate control over the very stuff of our culture: digital content.

“This is great news for groups like my own, the EFF, and Public Knowledge,” Sina Khanifar, who led the White House cellphone unlocking petition drive and sees this as an opportunity to address the DMCA at the same time. “We’ll be pushing strongly for comprehensive Section 1201 reform via a grassroots campaign at FixtheDMCA.org. The DMCA’s unintended consequences on our rights to modify and repair the electronics we buy, and to remix and make fair use of copyright content could easily be fixed as part of a larger Copyright reform act.”

Whether that actually happens is subject to long months of debate and discussion. But Rep. Goodlatte said in a press release that “there is little doubt” the current copyright system is challenged by new technology, and that a wide review of copyright laws — and related enforcement mechanisms — is needed.

That’s precisely what Pallante, who had testified before the House Judiciary Committee last month, said in a recent lecture on the state of copyright law. She also addressed the need for reviewing the DMCA and its application. Corporations have used the DMCA to take down links, because the DMCA says that content-sharing and social services are responsible for the content their users post.

“The next great copyright act must … serve the public interest,” she wrote. “It must confirm and rationalize … the ability of authors and their licensees to control and exploit their creative works, whether content is distributed on the street or streamed from the cloud.”

The public interest part sounds hopeful to those who want greater freedom for users when it comes to digital content and digital devices — not so much the control and exploitation bits. But those two sides, of course, will form the basis of the battleground.

“We know the movie and music industries have been spending lots of resources on this,” Engine’s Mendelsohn told me, referencing two combatants likely to be on the control side at the coming hearings. “But we in the tech community have spent a lot of time on this as well, and now we are part of the process.”

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/04/24/copyright-dmca-and-public-interest-house-judiciary-committee-to-conduct-comprehensive-review-of-u-s-copyright-law/feed/1722873Copyright, DMCA, and public interest: House Judiciary Committee to conduct ‘comprehensive review’ of U.S. copyright lawEntrepreneurs applaud Senate’s backing of medical device tax repealhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/03/22/entrepreneurs-applaud-senates-backing-of-medical-device-tax-repeal/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/22/entrepreneurs-applaud-senates-backing-of-medical-device-tax-repeal/#respondFri, 22 Mar 2013 21:41:14 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=704284The Senate has backed a repeal of a 2.3 percent tax on medical device makers that was enacted as part of Obamacare.
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The Senate has backed a repeal of a 2.3 percent tax on medical device makers that was enacted as part of Obamacare.

Silicon Valley’s health-technology entrepreneurs view this move as a step in the right direction, whether or not the bill passes.

“It could move forward and, more importantly represents how much the tax is disfavored,” said Practice Fusion‘s senior policy advisor Lauren Fifield. Practice Fusion is a San Francisco-based startup that has been keeping a watchful eye on hearings in Congress this week.

As VentureBeat reported, the Food and Drug Administration is under pressure to determine which “grey area” mobile medical apps should be regulated — and potentially taxed as medical devices.

“This may bode well for med mobile app developers — if the Senate is voting to repeal the tax for devices, there’s no way they’d support a tax on entrepreneurs,” said Fifield.

Happtique’s Ben Chodor was brought in to testify in Congress this week, and represent the voice of health entrepreneurs.

Chodor is outspokenly critical about the tax on medical devices, especially considering that it could prompt bio-tech and life science investors to look at international markets where tax rates are lower. “I think and believe they listened,” he said.

According to Politico, the language was included in an non-binding amendment to the budget resolution, meaning the tax will remain in place regardless of whether the resolution passes. But it does demonstrate growing bi-partisan opposition to the tax in the nation’s capital.

“The importance of this vote cannot be overstated,” said Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, who introduced the amendment. “For the first time, Democrats and Republicans have come together in recognizing how bad this tax is. We cannot stop here. We must continue the fight to get rid of this tax.”

As Newsmaxpoints out, most of the Democrats who backed this Hatch amendment are from states that are home to numerous medical device-makers.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/22/entrepreneurs-applaud-senates-backing-of-medical-device-tax-repeal/feed/0704284Entrepreneurs applaud Senate’s backing of medical device tax repealThe specter of D.C. overregulation haunts health entrepreneurshttp://venturebeat.com/2013/03/20/the-specter-of-d-c-overregulation-haunts-health-entrepreneurs/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/20/the-specter-of-d-c-overregulation-haunts-health-entrepreneurs/#respondWed, 20 Mar 2013 22:33:16 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=702929A lack of clarity from government is stifling innovation in the health IT sector.
]]> A lack of clarity from government is stifling innovation in the health IT sector.

As we reported yesterday, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under pressure to decide how to regulate thousands of new mobile medical applications. Congress has been in session for three days to hear from the experts in the health IT sector on topics like taxation, regulation, and consumer privacy.

Silicon Valley’s health IT investors and entrepreneurs currently operate under a set of FDA guidelines issued in 2011. At that time, the FDA stressed that it had not yet issued an “overarching software policy,” and it asked for the public’s input.

Two years later, developers and investors are still “waiting on the sidelines” for an official decision, said Ben Chodor, the CEO of health app store Happtique, who called me after testifying in House Energy and Commerce committee yesterday.

This delay may prove to be a hindrance for entrepreneurs. “Investors are clearly following the debate in D.C. about regulating mobile health apps, especially those that use attachments to transform a mobile phone into a medical device,” said Missy Krasner, the executive in residence at Morgenthaler Ventures.

For years, the FDA has had the final say on whether new medical devices are safe for clinical use. However, it is poorly equipped to react to the explosion of new mobile health applications.

A potential concern is that the FDA will step up its enforcement of health applications targeted at consumers.

“These laws were created before this new medical technology was imaginable and before it was understood, and this may hamper innovation,” said Lauren Fifield, a health policy adviser at Practice Fusion, a San Francisco based startup. “The gap between DC and Silicon Valley is 3,000 miles, but it feels like 20 years in terms of understanding.”

Practice Fusion, an electronic health record (EHR) startup, is one of the fastest-growing players in the health IT space. It recently made its first major acquisition in the form of 100Plus, a medical apps maker, and is keeping a watchful eye on Congress. Fitfield’s said the FDA may make a short-sighted decision that could lead to unnecessary oversight in the health IT space.

What’s particularly problematic for the FDA is that some of these medical apps operate in a “gray area.” Would a device marketed to diabetic patients that connects a smartphone to a glucose meter need to be regulated? “To put it bluntly, that is the area that no one gets,” said Chodor.

Malay Gandhi, the chief strategy officer for health accelerator Rock Health [one class ispictured, above], is working on a guide to benefit its startups that operate under existing device regulations, and their best interpretation of draft guidance issued by the FDA in 2011.

“What is unclear how many of these companies—representing almost 40,000 apps—would fall under selective enforcement by the FDA,” he said.

Gandhi advised that the FDA provide a specific set of examples for apps that would need to be regulated. One example that congress is considering is a urine analysis app (it’s not clear whether the stick or the app is doing the diagnosis), which the FDA may need to approve before it launches in the App Store.

Most concerning of all is that while the FDA dithers, a small sliver of medical mobile apps used in clinical settings are slipping under its radar, which is a potential public health hazard.

“In short, FDA needs come up with their guidelines already — sooner rather than later,” said Chodor.

Top image via Rock Health

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/20/the-specter-of-d-c-overregulation-haunts-health-entrepreneurs/feed/0702929The specter of D.C. overregulation haunts health entrepreneursHealth app makers to feds: Dithering on regulation is stifling innovationhttp://venturebeat.com/2013/03/19/health-app-makers-to-feds-dithering-on-regulation-is-stifling-innovation/
http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/19/health-app-makers-to-feds-dithering-on-regulation-is-stifling-innovation/#respondTue, 19 Mar 2013 22:58:58 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=702440Congress is conducting a three-day series of hearings to decide how to regulate the explosion of health apps on smartphone and tablet devices.
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Congress is conducting a three-day series of hearings to decide how to regulate the explosion of health apps on smartphone and tablet devices.

Lawmakers from the House Energy and Commerce committee have been holed up to discuss how to balance patient’s privacy concerns and inspire innovation in the developer community.

“Developers are mystified by the rules in this highly regulated industry,” said Ben Chodor [below], the chief executive of mobile health app store Happtique, who called me after testifying alongside a handful of medical experts in Congress today.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been mulling over this problem for years. It remains unclear which medical and consumer health apps come under its jurisdiction.

“Since the 2011 guidance [that it would be seeking public input], the FDA has held a public workshop on mobile medical apps and has received many public comments, but has not yet issued final guidance,” states a letter the committee sent to the FDA earlier this month.

But what about the vast majority of medical apps that are not for clinical use and are designed for scheduling doctors’ visits or devising a healthy eating plan?

Chodor advised the FDA to clarify that apps sold in a consumer environment, like an App Store, will not come under regulation. The vast majority of health apps fall into this category (only about 15 or 20 percent of all apps are for clinical use.) He explained that FDA approval should only be necessary if the app is intended for physician use to make decisions about your health. “The FDA is in the best position to regulate that subset of apps,” he said.

The total market for health-related app services will reach $26 billion by 2017, according to a study from the consulting firm Research2Guidance.

The burgeoning med-tech community fears that the FDA will step up its enforcement, and shackle consumers health products. This is stifling innovation with developers “waiting on the sidelines” for an official decision, according to Chodor.

“FDA needs come up with their guidelines already — sooner rather than later,” he said.

According to the Washington Post, lawmakers are also questioning whether the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would encourage the FDA to define smartphones and tablets with health-related apps as “medical devices.” This has repercussions for the tax that will be levied on the next generation of mobile health products. Medical devices are levied far higher taxes than consumer products and services.

Chodor is concerned that investors are already turning to international markets, where tax rates on medical-related products are lower.

The blurry line between a consumer-focused health app and a medical device is a bureaucratic nightmare. To make matters worse, many of these new health-related apps are used in clinical settings and by consumers. “To put it bluntly, that is the area that no one gets,” said Chodor.

[Editor’s note: VentureBeat originally published this story with a headline that badly miscast the author’s meaning. We apologize to our readers and the author for the mistake.]

The short answer is no, but perhaps there’s hope.

The day after President Obama was inaugurated for a second term, I was invited to speak at the inaugural meeting of the newly formed Congressional Caucus on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The caucus is a bi-partisan group, created by Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Gary Peters (D-MI), to focus federal policy efforts on supporting startups and innovation.

I have to admit my expectations were pretty low. After my euphoria over the passing of the JOBS Act last year, the latest fiasco over the fiscal cliff have me pretty down on Washington’s ability to get anything done that will help create a more robust business environment.

I have been to DC a few times with the policy business group I helped co-found, The Alliance for Business Leadership, and every time I’m there, I’m struck by the contrast with the more thrilling, action-oriented world of startups and venture capital.

That said, the House Members and staffers seemed genuinely interested in the components of a vibrant start-up ecosystem. I gave them a briefing of why Boston and NYC have such vibrant start-up environments, with the former being in the midst of a renaissance and the latter emerging from nowhere over the last five to 10 years to legitimately become one of the world’s major start-up centers.

A welcoming culture: Successful start-up ecosystems are are open, diverse, inclusive of outsiders/immigrants and creative types, and rich in information exchange.

Today, Boston and NYC are shining examples of these elements. Boston has always had rich intellectual capital, but was historically weaker in the cultural characteristics than it is today. The angel community has also stepped up in a more meaningful way recently, which has been very positive.

NYC has historically fallen short on intellectual capital, but that has changed dramatically in recent years with the talent streaming out of Wall Street and Madison Avenue into start-ups. There’s been an explosion in NYC’s angel community. This has led to an environment that has never been more promising.

With the audience being a policy one, I gave some simple advice to policy makers: avoid getting involved in areas where government doesn’t have a role (such as picking winners with targeted tax breaks) and focus instead on fundamentals like education and infrastructure, as well as policy issues that matter to entrepreneurs, including immigration reform, education reform to fit the needs the start-up employers, and capital formation issues like crowdfunding.

I gave a nod to local government leaders like Governor Patrick and Mayor Bloomberg who have been terrific champions in their respective communities. When you ask local business leaders, they will all tell you that those two politicians totally “get it”.

I can’t predict whether this new caucus will have an impact, but clearly comprehensive immigration reform is on Congress’ short list for important initiatives in 2013 and Rep. Polis was one of the co-sponsors of the Start Up Visa Act.

If every entrepreneur reached out to their House Representative and encouraged them to join this Caucus, perhaps it would have a small impact. Meanwhile, I was happy to leave Washington DC and get back to action-oriented Start Up Land!

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/24/is-there-hope-for-dcs-startup-scene/feed/0610042Does D.C. know startups?Congress yanks warrantless e-mail tapping protections just before Christmashttp://venturebeat.com/2012/12/26/congress-yanks-warrantless-email-tapping-protections-just-before-christmas/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/26/congress-yanks-warrantless-email-tapping-protections-just-before-christmas/#respondWed, 26 Dec 2012 18:36:34 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=595731Congress decided to kill an amendment to an older piece of legislation that would have prevented authorities from viewing a person's email messages without obtaining a warrant.
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Congress decided to kill an amendment to an older piece of legislation that would have prevented authorities from viewing a person’s e-mail messages without obtaining a warrant.

The amendment would have been applied to the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, and it was originally included in the same vote that allowed Netflix users to link their viewing data with their Facebook account, which the Senate successfully passed last week. We don’t know exactly why Congress yanked the e-mail protections, but my guess is that it wanted to take a more substantial look at the issue.

Federal authorities can currently collect e-mail messages and data from cloud services that’s stored on a third-party server for at least 180 days. Right now, no warrant is currently needed to obtain this information, and authorities only need to claim that such private data is important to an (any) ongoing investigation.

Lets hope the next body of congress can hammer out a real solution to online privacy before 2014.

]]>http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/26/congress-yanks-warrantless-email-tapping-protections-just-before-christmas/feed/0595731Congress yanks warrantless e-mail tapping protections just before ChristmasStalkers, prepare to be thwarted: Senate passes location privacy billhttp://venturebeat.com/2012/12/14/location-privacy-bill/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/12/14/location-privacy-bill/#respondFri, 14 Dec 2012 18:19:31 +0000http://venturebeat.com/?p=590410The U.S. Senate has just passed a bill that would take the teeth out of online and mobile stalking by creating new rules for location privacy.
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The U.S. Senate has just passed a bill that would take the teeth out of online and mobile stalking by creating new rules for location privacy.

The bill, first brought to the Senate by Sen. Al Franken, would keep companies — apps, OS makers, and mobile carriers — from secretly monitoring your location. If the bill becomes law, consumers will have to give consent for any location information can be shared or even collected.

Most reputable applications, such as Google Maps, Foursquare, and Facebook, already take steps to get your consent. But the bill would make that mandatory.

“I believe that Americans have the fundamental right to control who can track their location, and whether or not that information can be given to third parties,” Franken said. “But right now, companies — some legitimate, some sleazy — are collecting your or your child’s location and selling it to ad companies or who knows who else.”

Franken says the practice can lead to or enable stalking and even domestic violence — and the fact that many companies do location-gathering and location-sharing in a way that actually promoted such behavior is something we’ve talked about quite a bit in the past.

The bill was first brought to Congress back in June 2011. A few legislators have expressed concerns about the wording of the bill, but most said they’d be willing to work with Franken to get the bill passed into law.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Yet, when it comes to the Internet, there are plenty of politicians who believe something is broken.

But many active Internet users — especially those that frequent community news sharing site Reddit — wholeheartedly disagree. With this in mind, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) introduced a new piece of legislation yesterday that, if signed into law, would prevent politicians from passing laws or regulations that might burden the Internet over the next two calendar years.

Over the last two years, congressional leaders have attempted to pass a handful of really bad laws or international trade agreements (including SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, and CISPA) that would have tragically warped the Internet. Each of the failed laws promised to prevent digital theft/piracy, protect privacy, or afford the government greater leeway to carry out these actions.

Issa has rallied against these bills. In the past, he’s participated in Reddit Q&A AMAs (Ask Me Anything) to help explain bad tech policy, and he’s helped create the Internet Defense League. He’s sort of an unofficial champion for Reddit users, which could explain why his new bill’s official title is the Internet American Moratorium Act or IAMA for short — that’s the same abbreviation used for another of Reddit’s popular Q&A sessions, “I Am A…”